1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to method and apparatus for monitoring the reaction of people to a performance, and also to apparatus for producing performances modified in response to user reactions. Embodiments are particularly relevant to monitoring the reaction of at least a portion of a crowd to a selection of played songs at an event, and to an automatic disk jockey (DJ) which controls the playing of music at an event in response to the reaction of a crowd.
2. Description of Related Art
While the present invention is relevant to monitoring of various types of performance, it has particular relevance to reactions to and automatic generation of dance music. Terms relevant to dance music will therefore be used here—to help the reader to interpret this text, it is to be understood that the term “song” is intended to cover any piece of music that may or may not include a vocal element. It in particular covers dance music which is best characterised by a repetitive beat, but also covers other types of music including rock and pop music. An individual song is referred to hereinafter as a “track”, whilst a selection of individual songs played one after another in a continuous sequence is referred to as a “mix”. The term “event” used herein may comprise a dance held in a nightclub or at a private party or social function, or perhaps an outdoor event such as a garden party or festival.
The dance culture is increasing in popularity both in the United Kingdom and overseas. Perhaps the most important element in the success of the dance culture is the DJ—the person who selects the tracks, and the order in which the tracks are played in the mix. In some case the DJ's are becoming as famous as the recording artists themselves. Nightclubs often establish their reputations on the basis of the choice of DJ, and popular DJs often have their own devout following of loyal supporters.
The DJ builds his or her reputation both on their musical taste and as importantly on their ability to change the tracks they are playing in response to the reaction of the crowd. For instance, if a fast tempo record is played and the crowd react favourably the DJ may follow the track with another fast tempo track. If a slow tempo track is played and the DJ sees that a large number of members of the crowd leave the dance floor then the DJ may return to playing fast tempo tracks. Of course, this is a very simplistic view and the DJ needs to rely on an innate ability both to monitor the behaviour of the crowd in order to react to their demand but also to select tracks which directly influence the behaviour of the crowd.
As the importance of the DJ increases, there has been an increasing demand on the owners of clubs to pay for the best DJs to attract the greatest audiences. Whilst this is feasible for the most popular nights—such as Friday or Saturday—the salaries commanded by the best DJs mean that it is often unprofitable to provide the best DJs on other nights where the number of guests will be lower.
At present there is no realistic alternative to the DJ other than the use of pre-recorded selections of tracks. These have the disadvantage that the set of tracks and the order cannot be altered to react to the behaviour of the dancers.